by Ashlyn Chase
“Yeah, well, me an’ my cousin, Morgaine, we started the phone-sex thing to pay the rent here. Y’all know we’re witches, right?”
Yup. Nut job. “No, I didn’t realize that.”
“Yes, well, it’s agin’ the Witches’ Rede to charge money for magic, and my cousin goes by the letter of the law when it comes to the Rede, so she started the phone sex as a home business. She don’t like to leave the apartment.”
“She’s not doing phone sex over there now, right? There’s a whole crowd visiting, from what I saw and heard—unless…” Oh no, she couldn’t be… “She isn’t having an orgy in there or anything, is she?”
Gwyneth burst out laughing. “My uptight cousin? Naw, y’all just saw the folks who came for the séance. She’s a first-class medium too.”
Séance? Medium? Nut jobs must run in the family. “Well, it’s been nice talking to you, Gwyneth. I wish I could stay and visit.”
“Y’all come back now. I’ll put on the kettle, and we can have a fine ol’ time.”
“Oh, sure. Sometime when I’m not so busy…” Suuuure…
He turned to leave, then thought he should ask while he was talking to her: “Do you remember when I found you and your cousin in the basement, drunk out of your minds?”
Gwyneth’s spine straightened. “We was not drunk. Just a little tipsy is all. My gran-pappy used to say, ‘As long as y’all can hold on to one blade of grass and not fall off the face of the earth, you ain’t drunk.’”
“Oh, I see. Well, then, do you know why the cellar still smells like alcohol?”
“Huh? It do?”
“Yes, it do… I mean, does. Any idea why?”
She scratched her chin and squinted like she was pondering hard. Then she snapped her fingers. “I got it. I bet y’all just got the smell up your nose and now you cain’t get it out. That’s happened to me when something stinks real strong. Like skunks and gasoline.”
Jules shook his head. “No, I—uh. Never mind.” Total. Nut. Job. “I’ll see you around.” Then he dashed back downstairs.
As he was passing Lillian’s door, he almost bumped into a guy who was leaving in a hurry. He was still tying his tie.
“Oh! Sorry.”
The guy just gave him a frantic look and said, “Be careful. She’s hot!” Then he rushed down the stairs and out the front door.
What did he mean by that? Maybe all the women in the building were beautiful crazies. Or was it more? He remembered Lily’s sizzling handshake. Jules stood there for a few moments, trying to decide whether or not he should check on his tenant in 2A.
“Nah, screw it,” he said out loud. Returning to his apartment, he figured that dating neighbors wasn’t the best idea anyway.
* * * *
“You’re probably worried for nothing.” Chad floated over her bed as Morgaine packed her suitcase.
“What do you mean, probably?”
“You know. There are no guarantees in life. Now, death on the other hand…”
“Chad, shut it. I’m nervous enough as it is.” She folded her favorite cashmere sweater, running her hands over the soft, comforting fabric before moving on to the next item.
“Why are you nervous? You’ll be with a vampire. A big, bad, bloodsucking killing machine, who can use mesmerism to make people do whatever he wants.”
“For fuck’s sake, Chad!” Morgaine threw her black satin nightgown at his frothy image. It passed right through him and fluttered to the floor.
“Why are you throwing your lingerie on the floor?”
“Why are you still here?”
He vanished, then reappeared on the other side of the room. “Man, if you let every little thing freak you out like that, you’ll be a wreck before you even leave the building.”
She blew out a deep breath. “Tell me about it.”
Chad scratched his head. “I don’t get it.”
“Don’t get what?”
“The agoraphobia. Why that?”
“It’s not exactly like I had a menu to pick from.” She held up the piece of paper on which she’d printed the hotel’s address and phone number, flipped it over to the blank side, and studied it. With her finger on her chin, she said, “Hmm… let’s see… should I take the paranoid schizophrenia or the multiple personality disorder? Oh, I know! I’ll get the agoraphobia and nyctophobia. They’re having a two-for-one special on those today.”
“Yeah, yeah. Very funny.”
“It totally isn’t. How would you like to be plagued with panic attacks and feel like you’re about to keel over and die?” She thought about what she’d said and snickered. “Sorry.”
Chad shrugged. “Forget it, man. See how easy that is? I don’t get all strung out over little things.”
“Goody for you… and stop calling me ‘man.’”
“Sorry. I have a hard time giving up the vernacular from my time. I miss it. You never hear anyone say ‘groovy’ anymore.”
“Thank goodness.”
“Look, I was trying to help you see there’s nothing to be afraid of, but if all you’re going to do is insult me, I might as well leave.”
Morgaine sighed. “I appreciate the thought, but it isn’t working. There’s a powerful vampire out there who’s gunning for Sly.” She grabbed three pairs of lacy underwear out of her drawer and forcefully threw them into the suitcase. “I finally find someone I lo… I mean, like, and who likes me, and—”
“Ah! I caught that. You were going to say ‘love,’ weren’t you?”
Morgaine slapped her hands over her face. Heat invaded her cheeks, but it was too late. Chad wouldn’t miss her blush, and she knew it.
He chuckled. “Look, ordinarily, I’d start razzing you right about now, but I’m really not that much of an ass. You’re a good kid, and I just hope you don’t get your heart broken.”
“Jeez, first you call me a man, now a kid. I’m neither one. Do you think you could just call me Morgaine?”
“You’re all kids to me. Hell, I’m even older than Sly. At fifty-six, he’s just a baby vampire. Who knows how old ghosts get. So what does this other vampire want from him?”
She plopped down onto her bed. “I’m not sure, but it isn’t good. He’s obsessed. I’ve sensed his presence around our building almost every night.”
“Bummer. So how are you two going to get past him?”
“We haven’t figured that out yet.”
“Shit. Sounds like you need my help.”
“Your help?”
“Well, of course. Who else can distract him without getting themselves killed?”
Morgaine sat up straight, and hope flooded into her again. “Do you think you could?”
“I can try. Maybe if I use my telekinesis to throw rocks at him, he’ll be too busy trying to figure out what’s happening to focus on you two slipping out the back.”
“That might actually work. We’ll have to disguise our scents though.”
“Easy. Just soak yourselves in cheap wine. You’ll smell like a homeless couple who scored a bottle of Mad Dog 20/20.”
She had no idea what Mad Dog 20/20 was, but if it helped cover their scents long enough to escape Vorigan Malvant, she’d bathe in it.
* * * *
Stretched out on their sectional sofa with her head in Jason’s lap, Merry was reading What to Expect When You’re Expecting and Jason was reading a biography of Sandy Koufax. Merry had some questions her book wouldn’t be able to answer.
“Honey?”
“Mmm?” Jason answered absently.
“When will we know if our baby inherited your shapeshifter genes?”
Jason placed his bookmark between the open pages and set his book down. “Well, I imagine we’ll have to wait until sometime after he or she is born.”
She rolled her eyes. “I know that, silly. I mean, are there any signs we should be watching for?”
He half smiled. “Other than an empty crib and a baby falcon flapping around the apartment?”
Her
eyes widened. “Are you kidding me?”
“Yes.” His eyes twinkled, letting her know he was teasing.
She growled and gestured pulling out her hair.
His expression turned more serious. “Sorry. All kidding aside, I was told my brother and I didn’t show any signs of it for a few years. We were five or six, my mother said. I think I’d just lost my first tooth.”
“Oh, good. I was wondering how that would impact early childhood development. According to—”
Jason’s cell phone rang.
“Hold that thought.” He answered it with his usual businesslike greeting. “Falco.”
She watched as his face slowly fell.
“Crap. Are you okay, Mom?”
Merry pushed her heavily pregnant body to a sitting position and waited for what seemed like bad news.
Eventually he said, “Yeah, we’ll be—Oh, wait a minute. Merry was told not to fly this late in her pregnancy.”
“What is it, Jason?”
“My dad had another heart attack. This one seems more serious.”
Jason didn’t say, he might not make it this time, but he didn’t have to. His furrowed brow said it all.
“Oh, no. You go ahead. I’ll be fine. Roz is all prepared to be my backup. If anything happens, I’ll call both of you right away.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“But what if she can’t get here quickly enough?”
“Then we have a whole building full of tenants I consider friends.”
He nodded, then turned back to the phone. “I’ll be on the first flight I can get, Mom. Where will you be?” After a short pause, he said. “Good. I’ll meet you at Mayo Clinic as soon as possible.”
When he hung up, Merry threw her arms around him and squeezed. “I’m sorry about your dad, but if he’s at Mayo, he’s in the best possible hands.”
“I know. Are you sure you’ll be all right?”
“Positive.”
“Good. Can you pack my bag while I call the team’s travel agent?”
“Of course.” She smirked. “I’m just glad you’re using the airlines.”
* * * *
Sly appeared at Morgaine’s door that evening. “Are you all packed and ready to go?”
She sighed. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Something about her expression concerned him. “Look, you don’t have to do this for me. I’ve lived this way for two-and-a-half decades.” He shrugged. “What’s a few more?”
She straightened her spine and put a determined smile on her face. “No, it’ll be good for me too. I need to know I can face challenges and succeed.”
That sounded a little too rehearsed. He just hoped she meant it deep down. He would make sure she did succeed. If anyone could keep her safe, he could.
“That’s my girl.” He leaned in and kissed her.
She hit her forehead with the heel of her hand. “Where are my manners? Would you like to come in.”
“No, I still have to, um, find myself some dinner. I figure it’ll be a long trip, and I ought to fill up before we leave.”
She nodded. “Sure. That makes sense. Well, give me a yell when it’s time to go.”
He hoped they’d be able to slip away quietly. Yelling wasn’t his style.
* * * *
Chatting casually with his next victim, Sly enjoyed a rare cigarette. It wasn’t like he had to worry about lung cancer. The guy had tried to sell him a bag of heroin or cocaine. It was some kind of white powder that Sly assumed wasn’t baking soda. He wouldn’t feel too bad about biting this one.
Sly just hoped the dealer was only selling and not using the stuff. Getting a contact high through the dealer’s blood would sure mess up his and Morgaine’s plans for the night—and they were important plans. As soon as he fed, they’d be on a train bound for New York.
“So, you deal drugs in this neighborhood often?”
“Not usually. I was thinking about it though. Lots of college students live around here, right?”
“Yeah, but you wouldn’t want to get them hooked on this stuff, would you? I mean, their lives are just beginning. Addiction could ruin everything before they even get started.”
The guy shrugged. “That’s not my problem. If they’re stupid enough to use the shit, they probably don’t belong in college anyway.”
Good. This one seems like a nonuser and a despicable human being who knows full well what he’s doing to others and doesn’t care.
Sly clamped one hand around the guy’s wrist and the other on his shoulder so he couldn’t escape. Then he looked into the drug dealer’s eyes and put him under his thrall.
“You’ll stand very still, and you won’t make a sound.”
The guy nodded.
Sly’s fangs descended, but before he could sink them into the tempting, pulsing carotid artery in front of him, a blur flashed before his eyes. Gelling into focus on the other side of the victim’s neck was Vorigan Malvant.
“Mind if we share?”
Sly let go of the drug dealer and stepped back. “What do you want from me? And I know it’s more than just my dinner.”
His maker’s mouth turned up in an evil-looking grin. “What’s wrong with a dinner date?”
When Sly didn’t respond, Vorigan continued. “I’d like to do what I didn’t get a chance to do all those years ago when we first met.”
“Oh? And what was that?”
“Make you mine.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“I think you know, but just in case you’re not as intelligent as I thought… First I made you a vampire. The next step was to make you my lover.”
Sly cringed. “I’m taken,” he said through clenched teeth.
Vorigan cocked his head and smiled in a way that could only be called evil. “I can fix that.”
Sly’s eyes narrowed, and his lips thinned and hardened. “You’ll stay away from her… and everyone I know.”
“Then you’ll come with me quietly?”
All I need is to get inside the building. He probably thinks he can follow me right in. “Just let me get a few things first.”
“Excellent! Lead the way.” Vorigan swept a hand in the direction of Sly’s neighborhood. They were less than a mile away. Should he try to outrun the older vampire or continue with the ruse and simply outsmart him?
Sly stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked at a brisk pace toward Beacon Street. Vorigan kept up and chatted blithely.
“You were slippery all those years ago. Why didn’t you trust that I’d look out for you?”
“Maybe because you didn’t do such a superb job of looking after my wife and unborn daughter.”
“The daughter you gave up?”
Don’t lose it. That’s what he wants. Don’t let him get to you. Stay focused.
Vorigan strode beside him and continued talking. “You wouldn’t want to be saddled with a wife and child after becoming a vampire. That would spoil all the fun.”
Sly couldn’t handle it any longer. Almost of its own volition, his fist reared back and flew smack into older vampire’s face. Vorigan hit the ground. Sly suspected that the older, stronger vampire was only temporarily disabled. He’d need to run as fast as he knew how to reach the safety of his building before Vorigan retaliated.
For the first time since he’d become a vampire, Sly flew. He’d heard of vampires who could fly, but he had never done it before. He’d never had to. Aware of his surroundings despite the blur they had become, he managed to stop when he reached the front steps of their building on Beacon Street. Home.
He’d no sooner unlocked the door and rushed inside when Vorigan came up behind him and slammed into the invisible barrier. Apparently, Gwyneth’s resealing worked. The building was impenetrable to all uninvited vampires—in other words, all vampires except Sly.
Seeing the stunned vampire on his ass on the front stoop, Sly burst out laughing. He couldn’t help picturing Vorigan i
n a cartoon with stars and birdies circling his head.
Chapter 12
As she and Sly rushed toward the train station, Morgaine hoped Chad was right, and the smell of moonshine would disguise their scents. She’d poured some in an atomizer and spritzed it on like perfume, hitting all her pulse points. Sly didn’t have much of a pulse, but he sprayed plenty on his black slacks and coat. Now they smelled like a couple of drunks—lovely.
They had slipped out the back, and only the lights of the city and an occasional security spotlight broke the darkness. Their connected hands kept her grounded, but Goddess forbid he release her—even for a second. This test couldn’t be more challenging. Here she was, out in the open in the dark of night!
I’m safe. I’m with Sly. I’m safe.
Sly carried a small duffel bag and Morgaine’s suitcase, insisting the train station was too far for her to carry it herself. She knew he wanted nothing to slow them down. They purposely avoided Vorigan’s block. The logical route to the Back Bay station would have brought them close—too close, so for obvious reasons they took the longer way around.
“Almost there, babe.” Sly squeezed her hand. She liked the nickname he’d begun using for her. They hadn’t taken three more steps when he froze.
“What’s wrong?”
“Shit,” he muttered.
She glanced around until she saw him. It was her first glimpse of the evil V. Malvant, and although she could only see him from the back, she recognized his warped energy right away. His black, stringy hair lay over thin shoulders like the dark, jagged aura that hung over the rest of him.
“Quick, down here.” Sly yanked her arm toward the subway entrance. Before they disappeared down the steps, she saw the other vampire turn and smile cruelly. Yellow light from the streetlamps glinted off his fangs.
“Hurry!” she cried.
They took the steps two at a time all the way to the bottom. A train waited at the platform, but Morgaine doubted they could make it before the doors closed.
Sly scooped her up in his arms, vaulted over the turnstile, and had them safely ensconced inside when the doors shut. Vorigan, seconds behind them, slammed into the windows. Morgaine gasped. Vorigan’s face distorted as he slid down the glass.